hollieDemetra Nyx is repeatedly smearing period blood on her face to show that periods are ‘beautiful’ and ‘powerful.’
Yes, you read right.
When Demetra had her first period at the age of 12, she was actually ashamed by it – she thought it was disgusting.
Demetra said: “I was simultaneously embarrassed and fascinated by my period. I felt apologetic about it a lot and tried to hide it from boyfriends… Our society teaches us that periods are dirty and inconvenient.”
She had an IUD (Intra-Uterine Device) fitted when she was 20 years old, but the device gave Demetra heavy, painful periods which left her in bed most of the time. A year later she had it removed and since then she has changed her view on menstruation. She now regularly smears her period blood over her face and posts it online.
She said: “Sharing pictures of blood on my face and body was just an impulse – I was creating a series to help women connect with their menstrual cycle, and I thought it would be fun… We can also do things like paint with it or pour it into the earth… I believe it’s a beautiful thing to get comfortable with touching your own blood.
She wrote on one of her Instagram posts: “ For a year I have bled exactly with the new moon. They say that means nurturance. I wonder if it is a coincidence that I will bleed with the full moon just as I am beginning to create my business, this entire year’s worth of culmination, seven year’s worth of wisdom into one thing. Full moon is creativity, power. Today I sat on the ground and bled into the earth. In a dark red, velvet skirt. The clouds, the forest blowing wildly around me. It is this connection with nature that I know to be true most deeply. That the trees have me. That we are of each other. I MISSED bleeding. I didn’t realize how accustomed I had become to my cycle, to knowing my moods and my rhythms, until I was thrown off. My body was deeply missing this feeling of dreamy connectedness, this time of retreat. It was weird not to have it. My blood is magic. It is worth being celebrated. The wisdom of our wombs was taken from women a long time ago. I’ve taken mine back.
“Five years ago in the fall, I was throwing up black. The trees did this same thing except it was raining. Today it felt like the completion of a cycle. I don’t know what that means yet, exactly; but it means something.
“Today I wonder how you connect to the inner part of you that knows. That knows you’re meant for more, to feel more, to be more, that this isn’t all there is for you. I have followed that part of me always and that has made all the difference.”
Check out the photos below courtesy of Sex & story coach demetra_nyx’s Instagram:
Article from the Sun
Jason Harris
